The Murcian Council have banned all non essential travel within the coastal regions of Murcia.
This includes to closure of all schools and public places as well as gyms, beaches, bars and restaurants as well as any place where crowds form. All street markets are also closed until March 24th when further assesments will be made. The closure of bars and restaurants also include the region of Valencia.
However on Saturday 14/3/2020 the general government in spain has called for a complete lockdown restricting movement. This is an article from El Pais:
The Spanish Cabinet on Saturday decided that it was going to do as much as possible to slow down coronavirus contagions in the country. Government ministers have opted to prohibit all journeys in Spain that are not due to “force majeure,” but will allow trips so that people can get to work and purchase food. The decision was taken at a special meeting today ahead of the implementation of a state of alarm in Spain, a measure that was announced on Friday by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in a bid to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The latest information supplied on Saturday by the central Health Ministry put the number of people in Spain infected by the coronavirus at 5,700, with at least 136 deaths from the Covid-19 disease and 517 patients cured and released from hospital.
The draft version of the decree implementing the state of alarm, which radio network Cadena SER first reported on and to which EL PAÍS has had access, limits journeys to the following:
1. The acquisition of foods, pharmaceuticals and essential items.
2. Access to healthcare centers.
3. Journeys to workplaces or to carry out labor, professional or company duties
4. Return journeys to habitual residences.
5. Assistance for and care of seniors, minors, dependents, the disabled or especially vulnerable people.
6. Journeys to financial institutions.
7. For reasons of force majeure or situations of necessity.
8. Any other activity that is justifiably necessary.
To sum up, people in Spain will only be able to move around if they need to go to work, buy foodstuffs or purchase pharmaceuticals. The government is essentially locking down Spain, in measures that will go into force at 8am on Monday March 16, 2020.
To impede people from traveling, the decree states, “the head of the Interior Ministry will be able to impose the closure of freeways or sections of the same for reasons of public health, safety or movement of traffic, or the restriction of determined vehicles to them for the same reasons.”
Under the state of alarm, the government is calling on companies to facilitate home working as far as possible. “Employees, both public and private, will be obliged to supply measures that allow for employees to carry out their work or public tasks via non-presential means wherever possible,” the draft decree reads. This means a scenario whereby production is not interrupted completely, but does oblige all businesses to send all workers home where possible.
The restrictions being introduced by the Spanish authorities are very similar to those that have been seen in Italy. Public transport is not being closed for now, but services connecting Spanish cities will see their frequencies reduced, by at least 50% according to the text.
The decree also guarantees the continuity of all basic supplies, including “the supply of foodstuffs” and the “operation of services at centers of production,” allowing for the distribution of produce to consumer sales points.
